"For Me, It's a Question of Finding a Contemporary Interpretation of Islam"
There is certainly
extensive religious education on offer in the mosques, but what is offered is
not usually youth-oriented. It is usually dogmatic and preaches a kind of Islam
with which many young people don't feel much of a connection. Various empirical
studies on the subject have shown that this is why many young people distance
themselves from Islam and lose interest in religious issues. They don't want a
religion that imposes restrictions on them. What they want is a religion that is
there for them, one that understands their concerns. -- Mouhanad
Khorchide
Interview with Mouhanad
Khorchide
Mouhanad Khorchide, originally
from Lebanon, has been appointed Professor of Islamic Religious Education Theory
at the University of Münster, where he will take over from Sven Kalisch, a
controversial figure in Muslim circles. Kersten Knipp interviewed the
theologian
Mouhanad Khorchide was born in
Lebanon in 1971. Until recently he taught Islamic religious education theory at
the University of Vienna. He has now been appointed professor at the Centre for
Religious Studies in Münster, where state school teachers are trained in Islamic
religious education.
Mr
Khorchide, which theological and pedagogical principles will guide you in your
new office?
Mouhanad Khorchide: I will
advocate a humanistic theology. It is my belief that religion is there for
people, not people for religion. So it's important to me that theology is
concerned both with people's spiritual needs and their everyday needs. It's not
about conveying laws and dogmas. I want to convey an image of Islam that has
nothing to do with a religion made of laws. Furthermore, this kind of
theological understanding is easily reconciled with the principles of a
constitutional state and life in a pluralistic society.
How will
this be apparent in your teaching?
Khorchide: I'm interested in a
modern theory of religious education. I envision a kind of religious education
that takes as its starting point the everyday reality of pupils' lives. I want
to make a connection between religion and the reality of their lives instead of
just indoctrinating them with religious laws. That's not the purpose of
religion.
At the same time, many children
of Muslim immigrants have the problem that they don't speak their parents'
language – in most cases Turkish or Arabic – well enough. They don't have
sufficient knowledge of the language to be able to follow the imam's sermon in
the mosque, for example. Thus many of their needs are not met. It's the
responsibility of Islamic religious education to respond to these needs. Modern
religious education should reach out to young people and enable them to take an
active role in shaping their religiousness. It should also enable them to have
their own personal experience of God. It shouldn't try to make up their minds
for them in this.
What do
you think of the religious education offered by the mosques in
Germany?
Understanding the Koran in its
historical context: As a Muslim and theologian, Khorchide believes that the
Koran is the word of God not only for the people of the seventh century, but
also for humankind today
Khorchide: There is certainly
extensive religious education on offer in the mosques, but what is offered is
not usually youth-oriented. It is usually dogmatic and preaches a kind of Islam
with which many young people don't feel much of a connection. Various empirical
studies on the subject have shown that this is why many young people distance
themselves from Islam and lose interest in religious issues. They don't want a
religion that imposes restrictions on them. What they want is a religion that is
there for them, one that understands their concerns.
What
should be the relationship between the teaching in the mosques and that in
schools?
Khorchide: They should
complement each other, develop a complementary relationship. In my opinion,
religious education in state schools should not replace what is taught in the
mosques. Nor should it be introduced with the aim of getting children out of the
mosques.
In any case, experience shows
that this doesn't work. That, however, presupposes a constructive cooperation
with mosque congregations. We have to seek a consensus. Otherwise schoolchildren
may hear in the mosque that this or that religious education class is not
authentic enough or not Islamic enough, and that could result in religion losing
its credibility with them. We have to prevent that from
happening.
What is
your appraisal of the current dialogue among the religions in
Germany?
Khorchide: There is very
intensive communication here in Germany among the different religions. One
positive example of this is the German Conference on Islam. Another is the
numerous interreligious events and initiatives to promote dialogue, which take
place regularly and are strongly supported by the state.
And what
role do you see the Muslim organizations playing?
Khorchide: The Muslim
organizations have opened up much more over the past few years. They are far
more interested in dialogue than they were 10 or 15 years ago. Nonetheless, I
would like them to devote themselves more to theological questions. I find that
this is sometimes lacking. They want to represent Muslims politically. This is
good, but it's not enough. They must also be open to theological debate – not
only interreligious debates, but also inter-Islamic ones. It's a question of
creating a common theoretical basis for the future of Islam in
Europe.
Islamic organizations in Germany
must also open up to theological debates – not only interreligious debates but
inter-Islamic debates as well, says Mouhanad Khorchide
How do
you see the relationship between Islam and the modern world? What, in your
opinion, are the principles of a contemporary interpretation of
Islam?
Khorchide: The Koran is regarded
as the word of God. As a theologian, I am concerned with the question of how we
deal with this word of God. How do we understand it properly? Should we take the
whole of the Koran literally? Should we transfer word for word to the present
day everything that was revealed in the seventh century, including individual
legal instructions – in criminal law, for example? I don't think so. For me,
it's a question of finding a contemporary interpretation of
Islam.
This interpretation should ask
what answers were given in what social context to what questions. We have to
understand what people's concerns were at that time and what the meaning was of
the answers that were given at that time. On the basis of hermeneutics we can
then ask ourselves what meaning the sacred texts have for us
today.
As a religious Muslim and
theologian my assumption is that the Koran is not only the word of God for the
people of the seventh century, but also for us today. But in order to answer
this question we have to read the Koran in its historical context. If we neglect
to do that, we cannot understand it properly.
Is this
kind of hermeneutics accepted in the Islamic world?
Khorchide: Muslims had already
developed their own hermeneutics in the eighth century. It inquired into the
circumstances of the revelation. Unfortunately this tradition was not pursued;
it died out. This is why I would argue all the more strongly in favour of a
historical-critical approach today. We absolutely need this. However, I think
many Muslims misunderstand the term. They think "historical-critical" means that
the Koran has become historical and is therefore no longer relevant for us today
and that "critical" means only that it is permitted simply to refute the Koran.
That is a complete misunderstanding.
What the term actually means is
in fact nothing other than that we must thoroughly investigate the historical
context. Our task must be to find the spirit behind the letters. It's a question
of the general principles proclaimed by the Koran. How people then implement
these principles in their daily life depends on the particular
context.
Interview: Kerstin
Knipp
Translated from the German by Charlotte
Collins
Edited by Aingeal
Flanagan/Qantara.de
Source: Qantara.de
2010
11:06 PM
Sultan Shahin
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